“Most references to director, writer and actress Desiree Akhavan place a neat three-word descriptor by her name: bisexual Iranian American, often followed by the words ‘the next Lena Dunham’.” But being young, female, and a writer/director/actress is where the similarities end.

“Making feature documentaries is incredibly hard. You either have to have a massive trust fund or take this existential risk. You can’t have a family. You can’t have a mortgage. The idea that you could turn a 10-minute film on a Swedish arts programme into an Oscar-winning documentary, it’s either folly or extraordinary bravery.”

“When you highlight books on your Kindle, when you highlight a sentence that you particularly like, Amazon is keeping track of that – I’m not sure everyone knows that – and Amazon records what five sentences in a book are the most commonly highlighted.”

“No program indicated that these images should be captured. Rather, a person — often, with a DSLR you could buy at a store — saw something on the surface that caught their attention, focused the camera, and took a picture.”

Sign Up For AJ’s Free Newsletters

Norma Winstone, Descansado: Songs For Films (ECM) In an album striking for its quietness and its daring, British vocalist Norma Winstone and her augmented trio interpret music from motion pictures. The augmentation ... read more

Igor Stravinsky leads the NHK Symphony Orchestra in a performance of the 1945 version of his Firebird Suite, performed at the Osaka International Festival on May 1, 1959: (This is the latest in a ... read more

Pianist Menahem Presller, still playing at age 94 Human beings are living longer – and so are performing artists. The question of when do they retire gracefully isn’t going away, and if anything, will only ... read more

The young veteran Washington, D.C., jazz critic Mike (aka Michael J.) West took to Facebook today to make an announcement: I am beyond thrilled to present the premiere installment of CRESCENDO IN ... read more

Frequent Rifftides correspondent Svetlana Ilicheva writes from Moscow: I wonder if it is a well-known thing that Oscar Peterson sang? It was a great surprise to find this recording, not only for ... read more

“It’s kind of amazing to think that [the Obama portraits] will be living next to the other portraits [emphasis added] of all of the other presidents and first ladies,” Rujeko Hockley, assistant curator at the ... read more

Here’s my list of recommended Broadway, off-Broadway, and out-of-town shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews (if sometimes qualifiedly so) in The Wall Street Journal when they opened. For more ... read more

“I do know that it is as impossible to become partially involved with a show as it is to partially fall in love.” Jerome Weidman, “I Remember Barbra” (Holiday, November 1963, courtesy of Bruce Bawer) ... read more

In today’s Wall Street Journal “Sightings” column, I pay tribute to the great cabaret singer Wesla Whitfield, who died last Friday. Here’s an excerpt. * * * Cabaret singing is among the most satisfyingly intimate ... read more

Rudolf Nureyev’s first solo appearance on American television, dancing variations from Sleeping Beauty and Gayane. This performance was originally telecast by ABC as part of the June 2, 1963 episode of Voice of Firestone: ... read more

“We look at the dance to impart the sensation of living in an affirmation of life, to energize the spectator into keener awareness of the vigor, the mystery, the humor, the variety, and the wonder ... read more

This is part of a series, introduced in Baby Steps, about arts organizations’ initial efforts in community engagement. For details about the premises upon which these posts are based, see below. The essence is that ... read more

“Science is what we understand well enough to explain to a computer. Art is everything else we do.” Donald Knuth, foreword to Marko Petkovšek, Herbert Wilf and Doron Zeilberger, A=B (courtesy of Debbie Millman) ... read more

Dawn Clement, Tandem (Origin) Dawn Clement’s recording history includes piano collaborations with saxophonist Jane Ira Bloom and trombonist Julian Priester, among other prominent colleagues. The Seattle Times has called her, “The leading ... read more

Composed by William Osborne for singer-instrumentalist, computer-controlled piano, and quadraphonic electronics, “Aletheia” is a music theater work featuring the solo performance of Abbie Conant as the title character. Osborne writes, “Aletheia is an opera singer ... read more